article · Scientific Reports
Composite transparent conductive electrodes offer low-cost alternatives for developing modern optoelectronic devices. In this research, silver nanowires were synthesised through a simple hydrothermal process that varied the molecular weight of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone). Reduced graphene oxide and a conducting polymer were subsequently evaluated as over-coatings to enhance surface roughness, surface energy, and sheet resistance. The molecular weight of the polymer significantly influenced the resulting silver nanowire dimensions, with lower weights yielding nanowires averaging 46 nanometres in diameter and 12 micrometres in length. Among the formulations tested, the composite combining silver nanowires with reduced graphene oxide achieved the lowest surface roughness and surface energy alongside strong electrical and optical performance, demonstrating 78.2 percent optical transparency at a 550 nanometre wavelength and a sheet resistance of 27 ohms per square.
Modern optoelectronic devices, including touch screens, solar cells, and light-emitting components, rely heavily on materials that can conduct electricity while remaining transparent. Finding reliable, lower-cost fabrication routes for these composite electrodes helps improve performance characteristics such as smoothness and conductivity, which are essential for making practical, scalable electronic devices.
This work is relevant to manufacturers and developers of optoelectronic components seeking alternative, low-cost transparent conducting electrodes. The findings indicate early-stage experimental research, as the electrodes were formulated and tested at the laboratory level for optical, topographical, and electrical properties, without integration into finished commercial devices.
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Composite transparent conductive electrodes (C-TCEs) have recently been produced using low-cost techniques to keep up with the boom in the fabrication and development of optoelectronic devices. In this article, silver nanowires (AgNWs) were successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method using different molecular weights M<sub>W</sub>s of poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP). Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared using the modified Hummers' method and a reduction step was held on GO films to produce reduced GO (rGO). C-TCEs were fabricated by over-coating the AgNWs electrodes with rGO, or poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate to improve the roughness, surface energy, and sheet resistance. The influence of using lower and higher M<sub>W</sub>s of PVP on the yield, shape, and size of AgNWs was investigated. The results showed that using lower M<sub>W</sub> of PVP had a great effect on the yield, morphology, and aspect ratio of AgNWs with diameter of 46 nm and average length 12 µm. The optical, morphological, topographical, and electrical properties of TCEs were studied. AgNWs/rGO composite electrode provided the lowest surface roughness and surface energy of 250 nm and 47.95 mN/m, respectively, with a relatively high transparency of 78.2% at 550 nm light wavelength, and a low sheet resistance of 27 Ω/□.
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DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53286-8
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